Ruth Rendell – MostlyFiction Book Reviews We Love to Read! Mon, 04 Jan 2016 19:14:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.4 THE VAULT by Ruth Rendell /2011/the-vault-by-ruth-rendell/ /2011/the-vault-by-ruth-rendell/#respond Sun, 25 Sep 2011 13:06:59 +0000 /?p=21093 Book Quote:

“The real meaning of retirement had come to him the first day. When it didn’t matter what time he got up, he could stay in bed all day. He didn’t, of course. Those first days, all his interest seemed petty, not worth doing. It seemed to him that he had read all the books he wanted to read, heard all the music he wanted to hear. He thought of closing his eyes and turning his face to the wall.”

Book Review:

Review by Eleanor Bukowsky  (SEP 25, 2011)

The brilliant and prolific Ruth Rendell continues to entertain us with her latest Inspector Wexford novel, The Vault. Although he is retired and has no official standing, Wexford, the former Chief Inspector of Kingsmarkham, is delighted when Detective Superintendent Thomas Ede asks for his advice concerning a puzzling case. The scene of the crime(s) is a two-hundred year old house in London, Orcadia Cottage. The current residents are Martin and Anne Rokeby, who bought the property for one and a half million pounds. One day, Martin decides to lift a manhole cover in the “paved yard at the back of the house,” curious to know what, if anything, is down there. Little does he realize that this deed would end up “wrecking his life for a long time to come.” It seems that some unknown person or persons had hidden four dead bodies, two male and two female, in this hole in the ground, along with forty thousand pounds worth of jewelry.

Ruth Rendell has always dug beneath the surface of her characters’ lives, and this time she reveals how retirement has, in some ways, diminished Wexford. Although he loves reading, long walks, listening to music, and spending time with his family, he misses being a detective. How could he be content when “it didn’t matter what time he got up?” Fortunately, Wexford’s affluent daughter offers her parents the use of a home in London, which they happily accept. Now that Wexford and Dora have places both in London and Kingsmarkham, they have more ways to keep themselves active and entertained.

The case of the four corpses proves to be just what the doctor ordered to make Wexford feel useful and involved. He examines the evidence, helps interview witnesses, studies the autopsy reports, and uses his superb instincts, experience, and impressive intellect to help solve what turns out to be a series of complex misdeeds and misadventures. Adding to the drama, another crime is committed that hits close to home, since the victim is Wexford’s daughter.

The author’s prose style is as crisp, fluid, and succinct as anyone writing today, and she creates a rich and realistic picture of life in urban and rural London. Her descriptive writing is precise and evocative. In addition, Rendell presents us with a fascinating and varied array of characters who are compassionate, altruistic, adulterous, desperate, vicious, and predatory. The mystery is challenging, even for someone as uniquely talented as Wexford. The Vault succeeds as a character study, family drama, police procedural, and whodunit. Ruth Rendell delivers the goods, as she has done so often during her long and legendary career.

AMAZON READER RATING: from 51 readers
PUBLISHER: Scribner (September 13, 2011)
REVIEWER: Eleanor Bukowsky
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE: Wikipedia page on Ruth Rendell
EXTRAS: Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Read our reviews of some of Rendell’s outstanding stand-alone novels:

Read a review of the first Insp. Wexford in this long series:

and more recent:

Also, some of her books written as Barbara Vine

Bibliography:

Inspector Wexford Mysteries:

Standalone Mysteries & Psychological Thrillers:

Collections:

Movies from books:

]]> /2011/the-vault-by-ruth-rendell/feed/ 0 PORTOBELLO by Ruth Rendell /2010/portobello-by-ruth-rendell/ /2010/portobello-by-ruth-rendell/#respond Thu, 04 Nov 2010 22:36:05 +0000 /?p=13399 Book Quote:

“Our lord would have smoked if there’d been any tobacco about in the land of Galilee. He drank, didn’t he?”

Book Review:

Review by Guy Savage (NOV 04, 2010)

Prolific mystery writer Ruth Rendell’s work can be divided into two categories: the Inspector Wexford novels and her psychological novels. Portobello falls into the latter category and fans of Ruth Rendell know what to expect. The novel concentrates on the poisoned lives of a handful of characters who are connected to London’s Portobello Road, and these characters are as varied and colourful as the district itself. Rendell brings her characters together with her usual skill–although the heavy reliance on coincidence argues against the idea that London is, after all, a city of millions of people.

The novel’s first chapter offers a brief overview of the history of Portobello Road as well as a brief introduction to the Wren and Gibson families. A piece of post WWII good fortune allows the Wrens to move to the upscale Chepstow Villas while the Gibsons are doomed to the margins of society. The novel then bounds ahead several decades to the next generation. Gilbert Gibson, a repeat offender who’s now a middle-age sanctimonious, parsimonious member of the Church of the Children of Zebulun lives in a slum in a neighbourhood undergoing significant gentrification. He’s the “agony uncle” for the Zebulun magazine and offers exuberant moral and spiritual castigation to the sinners misguided enough to seek advice. On the other end of the social spectrum, fifty-year-old bachelor Eugene Wren owns a swanky art gallery, and his exquisite Chepstow Villas house is tastefully decorated with valuable antiques.

After a mugging, Eugene Wren discovers an envelope stuffed full of cash. He decides to place an ad in the paper asking the person who lost the money to call at his home and identify the precise sum. This act brings two very different young men into Eugene’s life–Lance, the terminally unemployed nephew of Gilbert Gibson, and Joel Roseman, a seriously disturbed man ejected from his wealthy home.

Rendell’s focus here is obsession, addictions and class differences. The have-nots such as Lance and his criminal pals are worlds apart from upper-middle-class Eugene Wren, but both sides of the economic divide fail to recognize the humanity in those more, or less, fortunate than themselves. Lance, for example, sees Eugene as “White Hair,” while Eugene sees Lance as “a non-descript sort of young man, all skin and bone, fairish, potato-faced but what did it matter?”

Eugene Wren is distracted by the contemplation of marriage to his long-term girlfriend Ella, a doctor, and so the meeting with Lance is just a minor aside. Lance, however, doesn’t forget the house and its contents. He stews over the high-end items he noted in the house and his obsession and resentment gradually grow:
”He was soon cursing the kind of people who don’t need to work until nine thirty or ten. What did that rich guy do for a living?”

Meanwhile Eugene experiences no small reluctance at the idea of total cohabitation, but this worry is superseded by his concern about his recent weight gain. To combat his spreading paunch, he begins buying diet sweets, and this minor habit rapidly morphs into a secret addiction. While Lance stews with class resentment, he’s under pressure to get quick cash, and Eugene struggles to hide his habit from a perceptive Ella. All the characters are set on an inevitable collision course.

The secret lives, obsessions and concerns of the various characters are relayed with almost savage delight but also with a faint whiff of condescension. While no one class of characters is treated better than another (Joel’s very wealthy family, for example, is quite appalling), the lower-class characters are portrayed in various shades of criminality–and inept criminals at that (at one point a chocolate cake is stolen and consumed). Fans of Rendell won’t be able to help themselves, and for its geographical focus, Portobello will recall Rendell’s novel The Rottweiler. Portobello, however, while malicious in tone is not Rendell’s darkest, and at this point, The Tree of Hands still reigns as Rendell’s masterpiece.

AMAZON READER RATING: stars-4-0from 39 readers
PUBLISHER: Scribner (September 7, 2010)
REVIEWER: Guy Savage
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE: Wikipedia page on Ruth Rendell
EXTRAS: Reading Guide

Guy Savage’s review of Tigerlily’s Orchids
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Read our reviews of some of Rendell’s outstanding stand-alone novels:

Read a review of the first Insp. Wexford in this long series:

and more recent:

Also, some of her books written as Barbara Vine

Bibliography:

Inspector Wexford Mysteries:

Standalone Mysteries & Psychological Thrillers:

Collections:

Movies from books:

]]> /2010/portobello-by-ruth-rendell/feed/ 0 THE MONSTER IN THE BOX by Ruth Rendell /2009/monster-in-the-box-by-ruth-rendell/ /2009/monster-in-the-box-by-ruth-rendell/#respond Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:49:46 +0000 /?p=5609 Book Quote:

“He had never told anyone. The strange relationship, if it could be called that, had gone on for years, decades, and he had never breathed a word about it. He had kept silent because he knew no one would believe him. None of it could be proved, not the stalking, not the stares, the conspiratorial smiles, not the killings, not any of the signs Targo had made because he knew that Wexford knew and could do nothing about it.”

Book Review:

Review by Eleanor Bukowsky (OCT 14, 2009)

In Ruth Rendell’s The Monster in the Box, Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford takes center stage. In his mind’s eye, he relives his early days as a policeman and even recalls his youthful romances. Why this sudden attack of nostalgia? Wexford’s obsession with the past results from a renewed sighting of his nemesis, Eric Targo, whom Wexford believes has killed before and may kill again. The problem is that Wexford does not have a scintilla of proof that Targo has committed murder, and for many years, Wexford “had kept silent because he knew no one would believe him.”  Targo has stalked, smirked at, and mocked Wexford, knowing that the chief inspector cannot touch him. Has Wexford’s intense dislike of this man colored his thinking? Is it possible that Targo is guilty of nothing more than being an obnoxious bully? Finally, desperate to confide in someone, Reg reveals his suspicions to his long-time partner, Mike Burden.

Eric Targo, who is short and muscular, was born with a disfiguring purple-brown birthmark on his neck. Over the years, he has married repeatedly, embarked on a number of business ventures, and traveled from place to place. The first Mrs. Targo said of her husband, “He likes animals better than people. Well, he doesn’t like people at all.” After a decade of having no contact with Targo, the chief inspector still bitterly regrets his inability to bring this fiend to justice. Now that Targo is back in Kingsmarkham, Wexford has another chance to complete his mission. Although Targo’s formerly fair hair has turned white, he is still very muscular and he has a menacing aura of invincibility as he struts around town.

Another subplot involves Moslem parents named Mohammed and Yasmin Rahman, whose sixteen-year old daughter, Tamima, is an excellent student. However, Tamima is a bit too interested in boys and her family might want to arrange a “safe” marriage for her before she strays too far afield. Wexford’s subordinate, DS Hannah Goldsmith, fancies herself an “ethnic minorities officer” who champions diversity and multiculturalism. She and Detective Mike Burden’s wife, Jenny, formerly Tamima’s history teacher, decide to intervene on the young lady’s behalf. They hope to persuade Tamima’s parents that their daughter would benefit greatly from higher education. Mr. and Mrs. Rahman do not appreciate interference from outsiders, even if it is well-intentioned. In the past, Rendell has repeatedly demonstrated how the huge wave of immigration from Asia is changing the face of England and setting the stage for ugly religious and cultural conflicts.

The Monster in the Box is a brilliantly constructed novel in which Rendell gives us a fascinating peek at the young Wexford as he tries to make his mark in his chosen profession. Reggie is a richly developed and appealing character whose compassion, good judgment, insight, love of learning, and willingness to admit his mistakes are thoroughly refreshing. Rendell’s literate writing flows effortlessly, the dialogue is sharp and often amusingly sardonic, and her descriptive writing is vivid and concise. This book would be worthwhile solely for the back story of how Reggie met and married and his wife after a series of unproductive relationships.

The Targo plot is thoroughly chilling. Wexford is convinced that this individual has ruthlessly killed a number of men and women whom he barely knew. However, what is his motive (if indeed he has one)? Furthermore, unless Targo strikes again and is caught in the act, there is nothing that Wexford can do. He recalls old murder cases that may have been Targo’s handiwork and investigates a new one that hits much too close to home. Gradually, Wexford closes in on a brute who may be the epitome of evil or simply an unpleasant person who, for some reason, has become the focus of Reggie’s intense dislike. Ruth Rendell plays with our minds and keeps us guessing in this multi-faceted and engrossing novel of psychological suspense.

AMAZON READER RATING: stars-4-0from 67 readers
PUBLISHER: Scribner (October 13, 2009)
REVIEWER: Eleanor Bukowsky
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE: Wikipedia page on Ruth Rendell
EXTRAS: Reading Guide and Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Read a review of the first Insp. Wexford in this long series:

and the most recent:

And some of Rendell’s outstanding stand-alone novels:

Also, some of her books written as Barbara Vine

Bibliography:

Inspector Wexford Mysteries:

Standalone Mysteries & Psychological Thrillers:

Collections:

Movies from books:

]]> /2009/monster-in-the-box-by-ruth-rendell/feed/ 0 NOT IN THE FLESH by Ruth Rendell /2009/not-in-the-flesh-by-ruth-rendell/ /2009/not-in-the-flesh-by-ruth-rendell/#respond Sat, 25 Jul 2009 23:08:14 +0000 /?p=3014 Book Quote:

“My husband said that we must move him, we couldn’t leave him there. You see Ronald had shot him.  No one would have believed it was self-defense.”

You might have put it to the test, Wexford thought.  You might have decided late in the day that honesty is the best policy. What a catalog of folly all this was — yet he believed it.

Book Review:

Reviewed by Eleanor Bukowsky (JUL 25, 2009)

Ruth Rendell’s Not in the Flesh deals with buried skeletons, both the physical and the metaphorical kind. Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford and his Detective Sergeant, Hannah Goldsmith, report to Old Grimble’s Field in Flagford when an elderly man and his dog come upon an old set of remains. Nothing is found with the body to indicate the man’s name, place of residence, occupation, or cause of death. However, since the victim was wrapped in a sheet before being buried, it seems apparent that he was murdered and then concealed to avoid discovery. Wexford and his team interview the area’s residents, but it is a tedious business, and they emerge with very little to show for their efforts. The mystery deepens when Inspector Burden and DC Damon Coleman discover a second body hidden under a woodpile in the cellar of Sunnybank, an abandoned bungalow on the Grimble property.

Two possible witnesses prove to be particularly irascible and maddening. One is fifty-year old John Grimble, “a bad-tempered bugger” who, for many years, has been obsessively ranting about the planning authority’s refusal to grant him permission to use his late stepfather’s land to build multiple homes. The other is eighty-four year old Irene McNeil, who had kept watch over the Grimble place when she lived nearby with her late husband, Ronald. Irene is a self-absorbed snob, as well as a racist and a congenital liar; Wexford has his hands full trying to maintain a gentlemanly demeanor while dealing with this infuriating woman. Another person who may be able to shed light on the crimes lives next door to the Grimbles. He is Owen Tredown, an author who is dying of liver cancer. In an unconventional arrangement, Tredown resides with his current wife, an icy and off-putting woman named Maeve, and his ex-wife, Claudia Ricardo, who is flighty and prone to embarrassing revelations. The two women appear to get along better than one would expect, but there is nonetheless something undeniably creepy about the whole arrangement.

Identifying the two sets of remains proves to be no mean feat, and the reader must slog through a multitude of dead ends and red herrings before the truth finally emerges. However, this labor-intensive investigation lends verisimilitude to the proceedings, showing just how many pieces of evidence and false leads the detectives must sift through before they achieve that elusive breakthrough. A little luck doesn’t hurt, either. In addition, Rendell includes a subplot about racism in England and the horrifying practice of female genital mutilation that is still practiced in certain cultures. In Kingsmarkham, where Wexford lives with his wife, Dora, there is a close-knit community of immigrants from Somalia. Although most of the Somalis are quiet, hard-working, and law-abiding, some of their neighbors are not comfortable with their presence. Wexford’s daughter, who is a social activist, asks her father to prevent a five-year old Somali girl from being “circumcised.” Although this is an important and timely topic, it seems tacked on to the story and does not mesh well with the rest of novel.

The vivid characters take center stage here. As she has done for decades, Rendell trains her gimlet eye on the frailties, foibles, and self-destructive tendencies that lead human beings to behave perversely. Greed, pride, stubbornness, rationalization, and stupidity are all on glorious display here. Seldom in a Rendell book do you meet characters who are kind and altruistic. The author has made a career of studying the dark and decayed roots of emotionally disturbed people; no one does it better. She also examines family relationships in all of their tortured complexity, and poignantly observes how sad it is for the people left behind when loved ones go missing. Rendell’s fine descriptive writing, sharp dialogue, and dry humor more than make up for the fussy and complicated plot, with its unlikely coincidences and far-fetched elements.

Inspector Wexford is the novel’s moral center, acting as a one-man Greek chorus. He is compassionate, philosophical, psychologically astute, and a human lie detector. His years of experience prove to be as valuable as the marvels of the Internet, which he disdains as “more trouble than it was worth.” Wexford is a natural leader, an advocate for the underdog, and a tireless pursuer of justice. He and his able colleagues serve as a counterbalance to the shameful actions of the novel’s villains. When someone suggests that catching a killer after he has done away with someone doesn’t matter that much, Wexford strongly disagrees: “You’re wrong there. It matters….Killing is the worst thing anyone can do and society needs to punish the perpetrator of such a crime for its own well-being.” In a world filled with duplicity, we need people like Chief Inspector Wexford to balance the scales.

AMAZON READER RATING: stars-4-0from 48 readers
PUBLISHER: Vintage; Reprint edition (June 2, 2009)
REVIEWER: Eleanor Bukowsky
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE: Wikipedia page on Ruth Rendell
EXTRAS: Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Read a review of the first Insp. Wexford in this long series:

and the lastest:

And some of Rendell’s outstanding stand-alone novels:

Also, some of her books written as Barbara Vine

Bibliography:

Inspector Wexford Mysteries:

Standalone Mysteries & Psychological Thrillers:

Collections:

Movies from books:

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